Hinge construction



Dec. 18,1923. 11,4??5/17 R. l, RHODES ET AL.

HINGE CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 5, 1920 SIH'U'Z-HIIW Russefilfiimdes and v arker Z1 Sim/71 0176,

Patented Dec. 18, 1923.

UNETED STATES Phil @FWQH.

RUSSELL I. RHODES AND PARKER T. SIMMONS, OF NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASSACHU- SETTS.

HINGE CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed February 5, 1920. Serial no. 356,511.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RUssELL I. RHODES and PARKER T. SIMMONS, citizens of the United States, residing at North Attleboro, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hinge Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

The invention has for an object to eifect improvements in box and hinge constructions, and aims to enable the use of an improved form of spring actuated hinge with boxes such as may be made of paper, wood veneer, or other material, and especially to enable the use of a powerful spring therein which has heretofore been found impracticable, making it necessary to use rather expensive boxes which increase the cost of many products excessively. It is a specific object to enable the incorporation upon very light weight paper boxes of a spring of a type such as illustrated in this application, which has a double function, viz, to hold the box open, and also to hold the box closed when the lid is moved to one side or the other of the dead center determined by the form of the spring. In this construction the spring hinge device is utilized to hold the box closed with suiiicient firmness to obviate the necessity for using a spring catch or other latching device upon the box, and by this it will be readily understood that a spring exerting considerable force would be involved. We are aware that the control ofa box lid has been accomplished with spring devices such as illustrated in my drawings, and these have heretofore been used in conjunction with hinges the leaves of which are secured upon the back walls of jewelry boxes, and the springs have been engaged with the outer longitudinal edges of the hinge leaves, the leaves being secured to the box walls by staples or the like. It has been found, however, that in employing these devices with boxes which have been otherwise entirely satisfactory for their uses, the structure of the boxes has become racked and broken, the deterioration in the box being extremely rapid and tending to make the devices impracticable, unless a much heavier-material is used in the construction of the boxes. A remedy of this kind, however, is not practicable or desirable, for the reason that the necessary increase of material makes the box clumsy when completed, involves special additional operations in manufacture, as well as considerable expense for material, as it is only practicable to increase the weight of the box by thickening it at all parts, and not alone at the parts where the major stresses occur. Itis an advantage of my invention that it enables the communication of force from the back structure itself to the hinge at a point a distance from the spring device, so that considerable leverage is exerted, through the hinge, the stresses being transmitted or shunted through'the leaves of the hinge where they become greatest.

Such boxes are especially useful for bold ing and displaying jewelry, perfumes, safety razors, toilet sets and for other purposes.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention may appear from the construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and shown in the drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box constructed in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the blank for the hinge,

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view similar to Fig. 2 of a further form of the device.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the blank in the last mentioned structure.

There is illustrated a box 10 including a bottom 11 having four side walls 12, the box being one such as is ordinarily formed of paste board utilizing a single thickness of paper board in the neighborhood of 1/16 of an inch in thickness, although the walls may be made of double thickness in order to give an appearance of body to the box. Hinged upon the bottom portion there is a top 13, including a top piece 14 proper, and side walls 15, all formed ap proximately the same as corresponding parts in the bottom portion of the box.

The top and bottom portions of the box are connected by a hinge which comprises two portions 17 and 18 respectively, which are hingedly connected in a familiar way, the leaf elements being stamped from sheet material with intermeshed knuckles 19 through which a pin 20 is inserted. The leaves 17 and 18 are of a dimension to extend from the axis of the hinge, which is in a plane with the meeting surfaces of the box and lid, over the inner surface of the sides 12 and 15 to the point of junction of these sides with the bottom piece 11 and top piece 14 respectively, from which point there is extended an integral tongue 22, having a length to serve as a lever in conjunction with the respective box parts, to operate in movement of the hinge parts from open to closed position, or vice versa. The tongues are covered by a suitable lining piece 11" and 14 respectively glued in the bottom and lid, or otherwise fastened. These tongues preferably have a length of one'inch or more, in that type of hinge which is used upon small jewelry boxes measuring two by three inches, although the same hinge may beused upon larger boxes,

, 'Each side leaf portion 21 of the hinge is formed with a slit 24 centrally thereof, parallel to the axis of the hinge, and having the metal there adjacent pressed on the side next the pivot inwardly so as to form a projecting lip "'25 upon which there may engage the bill portion '26 of a small hinge 27 comprising pivoted leaves having bills 26 formed at the outer edges thereon and including a spring device 28 under tension and "so engaged with the hinge leaves as to tend to closethe hinge 27 in the direction of the back of the box. The hinge 27 is of such size that when the *box is open as in Fig.2 the hinge 27 will lie clear of the box as shown,until the box lid reaches the .predetermined maximum open position.

The lip is pressed a distance from the plane of the adjacent sheet body of the hinge to cause the longitudinal edges of the lips of the assembled hinge to pass dead center with relation to the pin 20 While the box lid is open to an angle of in the neighborhood of 45 degrees to the plane of the bottom portion of the box. 7

There is also formed in each leaf portion adjacent respective ends of the parts 21' small slots 29 adapted to receive the tongues 30 of staple devices 31 formed of sheet metal and inserted through the sides of the box and the hinge, the ends oflthe tongues being bent inwardly over the hinge body to holdit secured upon the box.

What is claimed:

A device of the character described comprising a body and lid formed of laminations of paper or the like, a hinge element including a pair of leaves each having knuckles pivotally connected, adjacent base parts secured to the box and lid respectively, and integral broad plates extended outwardly from the base parts laid .between the laminations of the respective parts named and equalling in extent a substantial part of the superficial area of the engaged box and lid parts.

In testimony whereof we 'have aflixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

PARKER. T. SIMMONS. RUSSELL I. RHODES.

Witnesses:

ELsrE B. WRIGHT, MARY CosTIeAN. 

